The cameras in smartphones have witnessed a generational leap in performance as the smartphone industry witnesses the introduction of camera sensors featuring high resolution and up to 1-inch in sensor size. Sony Semiconductor Solutions has been a key driver of innovations in the segment of high-performance image sensors for smartphone cameras. The industry continues to see strong evolution and vendors are keen to define their brand in the market.

Today, Sony Semiconductor Solutions announced the launch of its new product brand for mobile image sensors, LYTIA. The brand focuses on building Sony’s key strength in smartphone camera sensors by creating a strong end-user experience in smartphone photography.

The LYTIA brand highlights the key areas of strength below,

• HDR: Sony LYTIA mobile image sensors provides a strong boost in shooting scenarios involving bright and dark subjects. The LYTIA HDR technology maintains contrast differences between light and dark areas to minimize instances of poor details due to overexposure and underexposure in various photo and video capture use cases.
  
  
• Autofocus: LYTIA brand strengthens Sony’s key offering of image sensors with All-pixel Auto Focus technology through Dual PD, 2x2 OCL, and Octa PD solutions. This includes enabling fast, accurate AF for low-light subjects such that all pixels are used to capture key focus information.

Source: Sony

Outlook

The introduction of the LYTIA brand confirms Sony’s transition from its previous EXMOR-branded image sensor products for mobiles. We note that over the years, Sony’s EXMOR technology brand has witnessed a decline in visibility and product placements. Recently, Sony’s biggest competitors such as Samsung and OMNIVISION have established a strong brand push in the market. Samsung’s ISOCELL brand has quickly gained strong visibility in terms of brand promotion and placement, with a focus on end-consumer awareness. Samsung’s ISOCELL brand aggressively markets its new product offerings and ensures the brand placement in OEM products. Earlier this year, OMNIVISION also unveiled its new brand identity to signify expansion in product capabilities and offerings. 

The detailed overview of Sony‘s LYTIA brand is still unknown, especially from a product-centric understanding. Beyond smartphone applications, the brand is also expected to target AR products. The new brand is also an indicator of Sony’s long-term focus on mobile image sensors as the vendor continues to mature its product offering by targeting premium segments.

The smartphone image sensor market experienced more than 5 percent annual decline, reaching $6.4 billion in H1 2022 as demand suffered on the back of weak seasonality and CIS inventory in the customer supply chain. Sony Semiconductor Solutions captured the top spot with 44 percent revenue share, followed by Samsung System LSI with 30 percent and Omnivision with 17 percent in H1 2022.  The introduction of the LYTIA brand from Sony is a key strategy to maintain its position in the market, especially in a period of declining demand and a challenging economic climate.   

Key Questions

• What image sensor technology innovations will Sony’s LYTIA brand provide to customers? How will it improve and define the end-user experience in mobile photography?
• What is the positioning of the Sony’s LYTIA brand? How will the brand differentiate from Sony’s EXMOR technology brand?